On 11 December 1974 Friedrich Hayek gave his Nobel Prize lecture which would prove a turning point in the history of economics.

Titled ‘The Pretence of Knowledge’, Hayek’s lecture was both a warning against what he believed to be the hubris of the economic establishment and a spirited admonition against those who would reduce human hopes and desires to mathematical models . After years in the wilderness, free-market thinking was finally coming back in from the cold.

To mark the 50th anniversary of this speech and to coincide with the release of a new IEA publication Hayek’s Nobel: 50 Years On, the Institute of Economic Affairs is hosting a panel to discuss the relevance of Hayek’s message in the present day.

Speaking on the panel will be:

Dr Mark Pennington, Lecturer in Modern British History at Queen Mary University of London

Dr Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs

Dr Sean Irving, Lecturer in Modern British History at Queen Mary University of London